Theodicy- Does God Ever Say No to Healing Prayer?

Here are two articles on a very challenging topic. I hope they will encourage you.

DOES GOD EVER SAY “NO” TO HEALING PRAYER?

I have felt for quite awhile that we have allowed our misguided presumptions about God determine where we end up on most any topic. With regard to healing prayer, most presume that God actively grants some healing prayers while specifically denying or passively ignoring others. In other words, He refuses some (most perhaps) to be healed while granting healing to certain others. The apparent arbitrariness opens up many unflattering assertions as to His goodness.

I am unwilling to make that presumption based upon the New Testament statements made below. And while I don’t propose a comprehensive or dogmatic answer, I do propose an alternate paradigm shift about prayer. Anyway, I hope we continue to allow each other some elbow room to explore these vital possibilities. The whole earth is groaning for the manifestation of the sons of God to awaken and engage in what the rabbis called “tikkun ha olam,” the repair of the world.

WHAT IF there is a spiritual ecosystem of prayer, an organic network where God has already pre-known and pre-answered our every prayer of faith in the affirmative (as the New Testament seems to unrelentingly promise).

And, what if there is only ONE requirement for this ecosystem to release answered prayers of healing and blessing? Its inhabitants MUST “rely upon” and “be led by” the Spirt both “in” and “through” and “past” their prayers of faith. In other words, our praying must operate in what the Bible alternatively calls “the Spirit of faith” by which we both “believe and speak” our prayers (2 Corinthians 4:13), AND “the hearing of faith” which “works miracles among us “(Galatians 3:5). In other words, organic manifestation FROM healing prayers depends on organic participation and interaction with God’s Spirit IN healing prayers.

If Jesus is our model (as opposed to a unattainable mirage in whose steps His church-bride can never hope to functionally walk), then we must look to His incarnation for the dynamic of successful prayer.

Did Jesus ever fail with a healing prayer? Not that we see, except perhaps in Mark 6:5-6 upon His return to Nazareth, where it states, “He could do no mighty works, save He laid His hands on a few sick folk, and healed them” (verse 5). And Jesus thereafter, “marveled because of their unbelief” (verse 6).

Their unbelief killed an organic opportunity for God’s mighty works to be done then and there. But does this mean Abba explicitly said “NO” to Jesus prayer’s for a “mighty works” demonstration? Or, rather, does it mean that Jesus was organically led in WHAT to pray for Nazareth before, during and after His ministry there, of course taking into account all the factors present, including their individual and corporate levels of receptivity? I believe the latter option is correct.

In other words, Jesus “could do no mighty works” NOT because He tried and failed, but because the Spirit led and instructed Him on what their corporate and individual capacities and willingness to receive were at THAT juncture in time. Jesus always engaged in organic prayer, and made the repeated claim that He ONLY and ALWAYS did what He first SAW the Father’s Spirit do, and SPOKE only what He first HEARD the Father’s Spirit speak. John 5:19, 30. We too are called, both individually and corporately, into this “mutual participation” and joint-operation with the Spirit. Philippians 2:1. “The sons and daughters of God are those who are led (and led, and led, and led) by the Spirit of God.” Romans 8:14.

Because Jesus was only and always Spirit-led, He batted a thousand with His prayers. His organic “hearing of faith” meant His prayers were malleable and always fluidly formed from first “listening to” and “participating with” the Holy Spirit’s assessment and desire for every situation He encountered. Some of this “hearing of faith” came from devotional prayer, some from spontaneous on-the-go interaction, and some in the wake of a particular event’s occurrence after the freewill response of others had been exercised.

But, I see no situation where Abba said “NO” to any of Jesus’ prayers of faith. Jesus’ prayer for the removal of the cup of suffering at Gethsemane doesn’t apply here as He prefaced it, “If it’s possible,” which, when combined with Jesus’ immediate willingness thereafter to embrace the Father’s will, merely demonstrates Jesus’ organic “hearing of faith” prayer, which here meant aligning His will into His Father’s perfection.

SO…

–IF we have Jesus’ same effectual Spirit of faith (Rom. 8:9-11; Gal. 2:20; 1 Cor. 12)
–IF we have been promised that healing prayer works (James 5:16; Mark 16:18)
–IF we affirm that all the promises of God are yes and amen (2 Cor. 1:20)
–IF we ask for anything in prayer, believing, we receive (Matt. 21:22; Mk.11:22-26)
–IF we have spiritual dominion over all creation (Gen. 1:26-28; Heb. 2:6-8)
–IF we have NOT because we ask NOT, OR we ask AMISS (James 4:3)
–IF we are equipped to do the same and greater works Jesus did (Jn. 14:12-14)

… then we are left with a startling conclusion. There is no such thing as unanswered prayer. There is only un-catalyzed prayer. There is only ineffectual prayer. There are only divine promises which have not yet been properly probated by organic participation with His Spirit. But, there is no promise for blessing and healing which has NOT already been kept by the Father. His eternal YES has not yet been catalyzed by the brides endorsed AMEN which can only come from organic interaction with His.

So, instead of figuring out why God appears to say “NO” to the vast majority of prayers, let’s focus on the more profitable issue as how we can better catalyze and align ourselves with His eternal “YES.” The better question is how we, as the church-bride, can individually and corporately catalyze His faithful “YES” with our effectual “AMEN.”

The bottom line is that we are called in our prayer life to be relational, malleable, fluid, fervent and effectual. “The fervent prayers of a righteous man avail much.” James 5:16. Conversely, the UN-fervent prayers from an unbelieving posture avail little. Again, the question is not why said God “NO” to a prayer, but, rather, how can we BETTER appropriate His “YES,” what William Law called “God’s unchangeable and immutable will-to-all-goodness.” Our prayers must not only be Spirit-given but also Spirit-driven. One major reason for ineffective prayer comes from not praying organically with, from, and through the Holy Spirit. It is a bit of a lost art.

WHY DO WE SOMETIMES APPEAR TO LOSE PARTICULAR “FIGHTS” OF FAITH?

Faith is a “fight” according to Paul. Never against flesh and blood for sure, but against evil impulses, against faithless ideas, against oppressive circumstances, and against dark angels. And in this spiritual fight, Paul says we are to endure hardness as a good spiritual soldier of Jesus Christ, wear spiritual armor, wield spiritual weapons and defeat spiritual enemies.

But here is the thing. Sometimes when we fight…we lose. There are very few undefeated fighters. Some fighters have great records, winning up to 90% of their fights– but they still lose a few.

Poor fighters, by contrast, may lose more than they win, but they still have a puncher’s chance to win many of their fights. Lack of experience, lack of courage, lack of confidence, lack of desire, and lack of training are all factors which can cause the fighter to lose fights.

Does the Lord promise we “will” be undefeated in all our faith fights? No, I don’t think so. But I do think He promises we “can” win each fight in which we engage by acquitting ourselves valiantly.

I think we can get discouraged because we don’t overwhelmingly win EVERY battle. And that is wrong. Sure, those types of complete victory are great and should not be uncommon, especially where the community of believers is dynamically working together in the unity of the faith. But, in this delicate spiritual ecosystem where the secondhand smoke of others’ individual and corporate free wills often befogs our situations with stubborn unbelief, satanic oppression, and worldly resistance, defeats still occur.

There are battles where the Lord’s best simply does not manifest in this temporal realm. There are just too many variables, too many waves clashing violently together in this pond of causation, too many unseen dynamics which to various degrees help or hinder the Lord’s best from openly and fully manifesting in any particular circumstance.

The freedom of angels and men often combine to form interference patterns of resistant force with which we must diligently deal. The Lord is always willing to manifest, but He often needs our synergistic cooperation to fully penetrate the situation at hand. He won’t (and can’t) coercively rape reality with His interventions. He travels on the active faith of men. This allows Him the consent He needs, the cosmic elbow room to deliver the situation by catalyzing it with the delivering energies of Christ.

The question is NOT “whether” or “why” God intervenes or not in human affairs.

Rather, the question is “whether” or “why” WE (both individually and corporately as the body of Christ) intervene or not.

God’s interventions of deliverances need OUR synergistic faith, catalyzing prayer, and enabling action for His deliverances to fully manifest here on earth as they are already manifest in Heaven. God has already intervened to the max in every past, present and future situation. His Spirit fills all things (Ephesians 1:23; 4:7-10). His pre-destinies (Ephesians 2:10) swirl around us like butterflies coiled in potentiality, eagerly waiting to be sprung into actuality by our prayers of faith.

John Wesley said, “It seems as if God is limited by our prayer (faith) life. He can do nothing upon the earth unless a man prays.” We are the spigots that release the omnipresence of God unto manifest presence. Our faith doesn’t create the victory, it only recognizes and releases it FROM Heaven TO earth.

And here is another major factor which often resolute in fights-of-faith being lost. Sometimes the Lord would have others join the particular fight we are in as our allies, but for whatever reason, they don’t. “One can put a thousand to flight, but two can put ten thousand to flight.” What do we do when face a hundred thousand deadly circumstances alone? Well, we fight tenaciously, fervently believing and heroically interceding with the positive energies of faith, and THEN we call call for back-up. But, if back up doesn’t come, then we do what we must to survive. But, at least we stood and contended for the faith.

Jesus is the only one who won all His battles. Paul won many battles. Some big ones. But He also lost some. He died alone, imprisoned, and abandoned. But, his “good fight of faith” was not judged by the Lord on how many absolute and complete victories Paul won, but rather on the resolute stance Paul maintained in not ever going down to the spiritual mat. Maybe he was outscored on points in some of these battles, but he was never KO’d (knocked out). He fought the good fight, always believing the Lord’s best toward every situational need, regardless of whether or not it fully manifested in the moment.

The good news is that the Lord has assured us the overall war has already been won. Jesus, through the cross, His subsequent descent into Hell, and His victorious ascent into Heaven, in order that He might fill all things, has delivered the death-stroke to the heart of the dragon. The tail of the enemy may be thrashing to and for upon the earth today in its death throes, but he is eternally defeated and defanged.

And please, don’t get me wrong. We should ferociously fight to win EVERY faith-battle we encounter: every healing we pray for, every oppression we resist, every crippling circumstance we pray to change, every satanic influence we seek to dispel. Fight to win, always to win. And, if we appear to be on the losing side of the particular temporal battle in question, then so be it. But, at least we lose in full battle array, always wholeheartedly contesting and resisting very appearance of evil, never surrendering or capitulating our hope or trust in God.

Whatever the reason for the loss, it wasn’t because of God’s lack of ability, lack of readiness, or lack of willingness. Rather, the culprit was the individual and/or corporate “neglect” of the members of Christ’s body in not resisting evil as a unified army of interceding faith-warriors.

I am convinced that suffering largely exists because the church corporate doesn’t pray in unity of heart and purpose. The church bride is here to relieve and/or cure the world’s suffering, but we are too busy disagreeing and blaming rather than agreeing and blessing.

Christ, for His part, is always ready, willing and able to manifest His rescuing power into every situation of need. But, the church is His spigot of release here on the earth, a spigot which we haven’t yet learned to corporately open full throttle.

I believe the throttle/faucet of the spigot is on our side of the equation. I believe that spigot is what James called “effectual fervent prayer,” both individual and corporate.

I certainly agree we can’t ever trivialize suffering, but on the other hand we also mustn’t trivialize prayer. I also agree that the sheer weight of suffering is mind boggling, but, on the other hand, the power of prayer is even more mind boggling, at least if we are to believe Jesus in Mark 11:22-25 and many other like passages. Earnest prayer should be our first and instant response to an outbreak of suffering of any kind, just as water is our first and instant response to outbreak of fire.

John’s Wesley taught that out prayerLESSness inhibits and obstructs God to fully manifest His A-game deliverances. He needs our organic faith-consent on some level. This occurred in Mark 6 when He, though fully willing, could do no mighty works because of their corporate unbelief.

God does teach us things in the wake of our suffering, even though He didn’t bring the suffering itself. But He can also teach us wonderful things apart from suffering if we remain humble and wholehearted in prayer. Until the church hits on all cylinders, many will continue to be vulnerable to satanic and circumstantial suffering. And because of this neglect, some fights of faith will be lost, or at least not fully won. But, when the church rises to corporate unity, that rising tide will lift all our boats.

But, always remember this champion truth. Our heavenly Abba “hath put all things under His (Jesus’) feet , and gave Him (Jesus) to be the head over ALL THINGS TO the CHURCH. Which is His (Jesus’) body, the fulness of him that fills ALL IN ALL.” Ephesians 1:22-23.

The original Greek of Matthew 18:18 and 16:19 both clearly say that we have the authority to bind on Earth that which is already bound in Heaven. Interlinear translations agree that these verses convey the idea that, “whatever you might bind on the Earth will be, having been bound in the Heavens already.” It gets even better. Not only has the demonic been demolished, but we have also already been completely healed of all our sins, sorrows and sicknesses. Jesus again completed this healing long ago through His Cross and Resurrection: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” 1 Pet. 2:24.

But, if demons are defeated and all our sins and sicknesses healed, then why don’t we see this “always already” victory right now? “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; . . . Thou HAST [already] put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But NOW WE SEE NOT YET all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Heb. 2:3, 8-9.

This passage is clear that all things have already been put under Jesus, but we don’t yet see them put under Jesus. The reason? Because of our individual and corporate “neglect” of “so great a salvation.” Both Satan and Evil have no gasoline left in their tank because Jesus drained it all away at the Cross. They are functioning today solely off of the fumes of our neglect of Jesus’ great salvation. What makes this salvation so great is its “always already” aspect. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to convince us of the accomplished benefits of this great salvation. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” 1 Cor. 2:12.

GOD DOES NOT ALLOW EVIL, HE DISALLOWS IT. Jesus Christ is God’s total disallowance of evil. In fact, Jesus has ALREADY disallowed all evil. Be of good cheer, Jesus has ALREADY overcome ALL the things of the world: the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life (Jn 16:33; 1 John 2:16). Jesus’ incarnation reveals the will of God toward evil: “with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, that God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing ALL who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.” Acts 10:38.

So keep believing on Jesus, keep resisting Satan, keep hoping for better, keep loving with the light of God, keep learning the ways of peace, and keep fighting against anything that rises up against you knowing God’s virtue better and better. Diligently avoid the interior neglect of your so great a salvation. Remain steadfast and immoveable in the faith, abounding always in the energies of God’s goodness!